WASHINGTON -- The longest serving openly gay member of Congress won’t seek re-election to the U.S. House in 2012, according to a statement from his office.

Lawmaker in the U.S. House and Senate on Friday reintroduced the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, and said that approving the bill would put the federal government on par with Fortune 500 corporations that already extend full benefits to same-sex partners of gay and lesbian employees.

WASHINGTON D.C. -- About 35 transgender activists and their supporters walked in picket lines on Thursday outside the headquarters of the D.C. Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to draw attention to what they say is an unacceptably high rate of violence against transgender people in the city.

U.S. Roman Catholic bishops on Monday vowed to defend their religious liberty, and in calling the growing acceptance of gay marriage an attempt to marginalize their faith, launched a new website aimed at promoting traditional, heterosexual marriage.

A U.S. Senate committee on Thursday voted to advance the Respect for Marriage Act, an historic bill that would fully repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman.

A bipartisan group backing legalization of same-sex marriage launched a new campaign on Monday, aimed at reshaping the debate from the topic of marriage "equality" to the value of "commitment."

BOSTON -- Seventy major U.S. companies, including CBS, Google, Microsoft, Nike and Starbucks, have come together in an "amicus" brief -- commonly referred to as a "friend of the court" brief -- claiming that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is harmful to commerce.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and 132 other Democrats on Thursday joined in the fight to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act in court by filing a legal brief in support of litigation against the anti-gay law.

PFLAG opened its bi-annual National Convention on Friday with a keynote address by Dr. Jill Biden, wife of U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, who told the crowd of attendees, "As a teacher and a mom, I know what Jeanne Manford knew -- that there is a direct connection between acceptance and positive, healthy outcomes in every important area of life, including education, mental health, and physical health."

In a moving, and at times humorous tribute, official Washington and the city's LGBTQ community on Thursday paid its last respects to gay civil rights icon Dr. Frank Kameny. The ceremony was held in Washington's old Carnegie Library in the heart of the city Kameny called home for over 50 years.

Several LGBT organizations say they “do not support” the Senate version of education reform legislation as it currently stands due to the lack of protections for LGBT students and what they say is a rollback of federal accountability for schools.

New IRS 990 forms reveal that fast-food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A donated nearly $2 million to anti-gay groups in 2009, reports Equality Matters.

The Democratic junior U.S. senator from New York is set to introduce next week legislation that would bar adoption discrimination against LGBT parents. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is set on Monday to introduce the legislation, known as the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, according to her office.

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon on Friday identified a total of 14 benefits where members may designate beneficiaries of their choosing, regardless of sexual orientation, but the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) said the announcement does nothing "to move the ball forward" in providing equal benefits for legally married gay and lesbian couples.

Service Members Legal Defense Network on Thursday launched a federal lawsuit in U. S. District Court in Boston on behalf of current and former service members seeking equal recognition, benefits and family support for equal sacrifice and service in the U.S. Armed Forces.